Saanich PD and VicPD files on school property

Following up on a January 2020 statement from the chair of the SD61 board that they were not aware of arrests on school property in recent memory, I filed FOIs with the Saanich Police Department and VicPD for a copy of any incident reports for arrests at schools or on school property, 2014 to present.

Saanich PD
Saanich PD provided summary data showing that 93 youths were either considered chargeable, had charges recommended, or were charged in files that occurred on school grounds between 2014 and 2020. In each of the past six years, files that occurred on school property have led to youth being either charged and/or having charges recommended against them.

Saanich PD files on school property, 2014 to 2020.

Saanich PD said without reviewing each file, they couldn't determine how many arrests occurred, or, if arrests did occur, whether those arrests took place on school property. Saanich PD also said the same youth could have been involved in more than one file, so the number of individuals may be lower than 93. Finally, it would likely take a review of individual files to determine whether the files took place during school hours. It’s also not clear if these files related to school liaison officers directly.

VicPD
VicPD identified 128 responsive files from 2019 alone. Note that those files may include more than one individual, and VicPD did not break that number down into files including youth and adults. 

A post on the activities of VicPD’s school liaison officers is available here.

Given that the board had been preparing to welcome VicPD’s school liaison officers back into SD61 schools, it’s incumbent on the board to understand the effects police have on students’ lives. Saying that they’re “not aware” of any recent arrests at their schools isn’t good enough.